See You Later
by MJTR
Summary: The last, quiet moments of two lovers
1. Chapter 1

"You'll stay here until it's over, won't you?"

"There's no where else I'd rather be… Not that there is anywhere else to go anyway."

"Don't spoil the moment Tim… Please."

"I'm sorry."

"Are you scared?"

"Of course I'm scared, aren't you?"

"After the Mercy, I gotta admit, this doesn't seem _as_ bad at least."

"But you still need me to stay."

"You stayed with me until just before I work up before you pulled one of Bruce's old tricks and slipped out."

"You knew about that huh?"

"My mom said it was Dr. Midnight."

"I told her that's who I was. I didn't want you to know. Not like that anyway."

"You didn't have to save me from the Mercy if you wanted me back in your life Tim… I wish you would have just asked… And a lot sooner than this…"

"Soon it'll all be gone… I guess it didn't matter in the first place."

"Don't be silly Tim… Of course it still matters."

…

"Better late than never, right?"

"Steph…"

"And who knows what's waiting on the other side. Maybe you'll get a chance to _not_ hit me with a brick the first time we meet."

"We don't even know if we'll still _be_ there at all."

"Of course we will Tim… We were supposed to be here. And we're supposed to be there too."

"But-"

"You're the one who was so convinced Bruce needed a cheerier influence in his life. Do I really need to start being Robin for you now?"

"I could use a little of that right now I guess."

…

"Take your hood off Tim."

"Let me get your mask… That's better… God… You still look beautiful."

"And you still look like a million bucks rich boy."

"Who knows what it's going to be like when this is over… Will we even remember each other?"

"Somehow, someway, we will Tim, I know it… Do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Keep your hood down, okay? Keep that hair of yours blowing in the wind. It'll help me recognize you."

"But Steph-"

"Shh… And I'll be wearing my old costume, okay? I'll be Spoiler again, so we're sure that you recognize me."

"…"

"Okay?"

"I promise."

"I promise too. And if you hold me to mine like I'll hold you to yours, of course we'll find each other again. We have to."

"You're so calm."

"I've been Robin, I've been Batgirl, I've been to a dimension of witch people and I've faked being dead… Time collapsing was bound to come around sooner or later."

"… You're right. There really is no way we're going to forget each other."

"We'll find one another again. No matter what. It's not good-bye, it's just see you later."

"See you later… Yeah."

…

"Steph?"

"Tim?"

"One more kiss for the road?"

"Of course."

…

"We'll be together again soon, I promise."

"No kicks to the gut this time, okay?"

"I'll do my best to remember that too."

"Don't let go Tim. Not until it forces us apart."

"I won't."

…

"See you on the other side."

"For sure… I love you."

"I love you too."


	2. Later

"What are you all snickering at? We were supposed to get started ten minutes ago, Cassandra and I have been waiting."

"Oh calm your ass boy wonder. We're apparently paying more attention to what's going on back in Gotham than you are…. Least as far as blondie here is concerned."

"What are you talking about Miguel?"

"I was googling our codenames, wanted to know if anyone was saying anything entertaining… Oooh boy, you've got a whole article… Well, you and all the rest of the Robins do."

"What are you even… 'Gotham's Cutest Sidekicks: Picking Your Fiery Red Sweetheart.' What in God's name are you-"

"Red is right Tim, your about as bright as your costume!"

"Shut up Bart! Look, we don't have time for this, can we just get back to-"

"Un momento Tim, un momento, you gotta hear some more of this. She likes Nightwing the best, called him big and strong and athletic-"

"Ugh, I'm leaving!"

"Hold on man, hold on, here's her run down of you… 'Red Robin (Yum!)' Ha ha ha! Ahem… 'Let's be real on this guy, he's probably the most easily approachable. He's definitely a fixer-upper with that ridiculous costume of his-"

"I said I'm leaving! Cassandra-"

"Hey, you go if you want Swan Princess, I gotta hear the rest of this."

"'But he's got a lean, easy-to-cuddle frame, still in my age range (I think), and he's got that head of black hair. Batman's got a real thing for those black haired boys, maybe he should invite me to add a little diversity to the Robin roster. But outta all of them, Red might pull it off the best. He looks' Pshh, ha ha! 'He looks so handsome with those sleek blacks of his. First time I saw him I was bricked!'"

"What does that even mean?"

"I don't know Conner, but it's hilarious!"

"Both of you get away from that damn thing! We have work to do! If you're not out on the training course in the next five seconds I'll make you run it eight times before we move on!"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Whatever you say lean, sleek and cuddleable. Bwa ha ha!"

"The nerve of those guys, ugh."

"Do you know that girl Tim?"

"I doubt it Cassie, what's her name?"

"Stephanie Brown."

"Huh… Sounds familiar, but I dunno, does she have a picture posted?"

"Yeah, take a look."

"Huh… Maybe I went to kindergarten with her or something, I dunno. Name sounds right, face and hair ring a bell… But I don't know. I can't say for sure."

"Maybe you should look her up next time you're in Gotham. Sounds like she likes you."

"Yeah, sure, and how would I explain the fact that I'm constantly out trying to clean up N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s crap and all that?"

"I'm just saying you don't get out and talk to people as much as you should. If you have a secret fangirl back in Gotham, maybe you should look into it."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Cassie… I do have to admit it though… Whoever she is, wherever I remember her from, she looks pretty great in purple."

…

_Author's Reflection:_

I'd been toying with this idea for a while. Nick-Perks on Deviantart had drawn a picture of Tim and Steph holding one another as the old universe crumbled around them, Steph asking if they'd remember one another and Tim promising, "Always". I loved the concept right from the get go, but always kinda thought their positions were backwards and felt it would be more likely Steph was reassuring Tim. But even that wasn't going to happen in my earlier drafts.

The original version of this story was going to be called, "End of the Road" and was going to be a lot bleaker, or at least be more obvious about it. There was going to be a whole lead in to the universe crash and everything, most likely Tim and Steph being out in Gotham and foiling someone's plan at the same time, Black Mask was probably a high choice for that, considering both of their personal histories. Shortly after their victory they'd playfully argue about whose capture it was and then get into the sentimental stuff we see in the story proper. Upon realizing Flashpoint was taking place, I actually originally thought both of them would be freaking out, then considered having Steph lose it while Tim remained calm before deciding, as mentioned, that Steph should be the one who keeps her head. Always hopeful, pure hearted Stephanie, voice of reason even as time is collapsing.

I also considered writing in that Batman somehow discovered Flashpoint was taking place and sent them on the mission together to stop Black Mask so they'd have one last chance to make things right before everything ended. I liked the idea, but didn't think it was something Bruce would do. Although Stephanie would definitely want closure, I think he'd prefer she be with her mom and, at most, tell Tim to go with her. That's what I think.

So on the day I decided I'd just sit down and write "End of the Road", I was struck by a bout of laziness. I just didn't feel like typing out the set up with Black Mask or anything like that. So I decided to skip right to the universe crash. Somewhere in the midst of it, I started asking myself, "Man, how the hell _would_ you feel in a situation like this? Is Stephanie really this brave? Are they so sure of everything? Because they seem pretty collected and pretty confident…" At which point I decided to condense the story even _further_ by removing the "Tim said" and the "Stephanie said"s from the story. You can read it however you want, maybe Stephanie _does_ believe everything she's saying… Or maybe she's on the verge of tears and Tim is placating her to try and help her feel better. That's up to the reader to decide, and can give an extra tragic edge to the story if you want there to be one.

It soon became clear that I didn't want to call it "End of the Road" anymore, so I went with the more hopeful "See You Later". I didn't plan on writing a follow up of any kind (and I've never read any of the New 52 Teen Titans) but I did want to write a reflection and get a few more views, so I decided a follow up couldn't hurt.

I know Stephanie has never had an attraction to Tim's hair at all, but I wanted some kind of deeper meaning to be behind his… Conceptually good but overall somewhere between questionable and flat out tacky New 52 Red Robin costume. I really liked the old costume save for the hood, I always thought Tim looked great in the Red Robin uniform while it was down. So I liked that I could see Tim's hair again with the new costume and decided to give that trait to Stephanie. New 52 Steph makes fun of the costume, but, like me, likes that we get to see his hair again… Although even that looked too screwy sometimes. Dustin Nguyen is currently the only artist I've seen give that costume some dignity, and Nguyen's one of my favorites anyway (I own a signed poster from the guy!) so I expect him to be able to.

I also was careful to write these so that they didn't break any established continuity, so the reader can enjoy an extra layer of "DC can't prove this DIDN'T happen" on top of everything else.

And yes, if anyone wanted to know, I am reading Batman Eternal and am enjoying it immensely. Hopefully we'll see Tim and Steph finally reconnect there. I don't usually use this term, but Tim and Stephanie really do have One True Pairing status with me. I never hated Tim's other girlfriends or Steph's love interests or anything, but they really are my favorite comic book couple.

So that was _See You Later_… And hopefully DC will get on with the seeing you later here very soon. TimxStephanie forever.

This has been Michael Joseph Tharnish Roby, signing off.


End file.
